| HMS Virago (R75) | |
|---|---|
 Virago at anchor on the River Tyne, October 1943 | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: |
HMS Virago (R75) HMS Virago (F76) |
| Ordered: | 1 September 1941 |
| Builder: | Swan Hunter |
| Laid down: | 16 February 1942 |
| Launched: | 4 February 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 5 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 1963 |
| Honours and awards: |
Arctic 1943-44 North Cape 1943 Normandy 1944 Malaya 1945 Burma 1945 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 4 June 1965 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | V-class destroyer |
HMS Virago (R75) was an V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. She was later converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F76.
Second World War service[]
In addition to escorting the perilous Arctic convoys during 1943-44, Virago participated with other British destroyers in the Battle of North Cape on December 26, 1943, where her torpedoes sank the badly beaten Scharnhorst, following a fierce fight between the battleship and HMS Duke of York. During the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 she fired on German positions behind Lion Sur Mer on Sword beach, and late gave cover fire for troops advancing inland.
Transferred to the Eastern Fleet in early 1945, she patrolled the Malacca Straight and supported Operation Dracula off the coast of Burma in late April 1945. Virago subsequently participated in the Battle of the Malacca Strait with HMS Saumarez, Verulam, Venus and Vigilant which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro on 16 May 1945. This was a textbook destroyer night action, and was the last naval gun battle of World War II. Virago participated in preparations for Operation Zipper (the invasion of Malaya) in July/August 1945, and its eventual execution as a reoccupation maneuver in September 1945 following the surrender of Japan. Based in Hong Kong with the British Pacific Fleet after VJ day, Virago returned to Chatham (UK) in December 1945.
Throughout her wartime commission, Virago was under the command of Lt. Cdr. Archibald John Ramsay White (1910-1991).
Post War service[]
In 1946, Virago and Venus participated in the rescue of crew from the British tanker Empire Cross, which caught fire, exploded and sank at Haifa, Palestine,[1] with the loss of up to 25 lives.[2] In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[3]
References[]
- ↑ Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". 5 August 1946. - ↑ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
Publications[]
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
- Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
External links[]
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Hms
The original article can be found at HMS Virago (R75) and the edit history here.